A/N: Some of those chapters are so hard to write. I have a cinematic vision of the story. Sometimes I just can't find the right word to describe what I see happening, especially where there is so many characters in a scene, so many actions to describe. I hope, it's still acceptable.
- 50-
The Serenity Lake
Ichigo Kurosaki
Seventeen years old
High school student at Karakura High
Orihime Inoue's boyfriend
Rukia Kuchiki's best friend
He was aware that he was not where he was supposed to be, but at the same time, this feeling of confusion was starting to get addictive. At least he didn't have to pretend he knew shit about his final destination.
He didn't know exactly what had decided him. It was probably not the prospect of spending time with his father Isshin, nor the beauty of the landscape. No, he had just realized that he was suffocating in Karakura. The town had become too small for him and the shinigamis.
Numb- Linkin Park cover ( instrumental for cellos) GnuS Cello
Of course, he thought of Orihime. He wasn't that irresponsible and selfish. But he knew in the present situation he was of no use. There was nothing he could do for her. He could neither help nor protect her. He certainly didn't save her. His mind was crowded with self-deprecating thoughts. He could barely function. Nothing made sense. Worse, he started to realize Orihime probably felt the same way, and the distance he felt with her was also the result of her own resignation. She probably was disappointed with him, just like Rukia. It all started because of him, and he couldn't even finish it.
Of course, he knew that Orihime was hiding things from him. They were all hiding things from him like it was an official Olympic event. It was as if everyone had decided that without powers, he could not hear the truth. Without his powers, he was not even worth the hassle.
Part of him knew that his father, Orihime, Urahara, and even Kuchiki Byakuya thought they were doing it for his sake. But the other part of him felt forcibly sidelined. He was no longer a child, but he was definitely not a man. He was not invited to the big table. He was stuck in limbo without a way to escape.
"Iiiiiiiiiiiiichi-niisan! Otosan!"
The teenager looked up at his younger sister, Yuzu. A breeze stirred the branches of the trees, and a few cherry blossoms dropped their petals in the air. Ripples disturbed the surface of Lake Shijima. Yuzu and Karin, dressed in colorful down jackets, held a huge carp in their hands. Ichigo forced himself to smile.
" Great! Great! That's my daughters!" Isshin yelled in turn. "I have always said that my daughters are much more gifted than my lazy son."
Ichigo groaned in response. Yes, it was the girls' third fish, and he still hadn't caught anything. But at the same time, fishing had never been his strong point. The only positive thing about it was that his mind was free to wander.
Karin went to get the bucket while Yuzu struggled with the wriggling fish in her arms. Isshin watched them with a smile, and he pulled out his pack of cigarettes.
"I thought you were no longer smoking."
"Your scowl looks desperate. Masaki must watch us from up there. I want her to find me cool."
His father's logic completely escaped him.
"You know very well that she is not 'up there' so could we stop with the politically correct BS?"
Isshin did not abandon his amused expression. He blew a cloud of smoke into the air. He shrugged.
"Mom ... Mom is dead."
Isshin slowly settled on the rock by his side inhaling a new cloud of nicotine.
"I mean, it's good for Yuzu and Karin. They are still at that age.
While saying that, Ichigo watched his young sisters for a few seconds. They were bickering. Yuzu wanted to baptize the carp. But Karin didn't see the point in knowing its name since it was going to be their dinner anyway. Yuzu started to cry. She wanted all the family to become vegan. Karin calmly announced that there was no way she would shun meat from her diet. Ichigo lowered his head to the ground, his thoughts going back to his mother.
"I would like to believe that ... Maybe she is in soul society, and she doesn't remember us."
" Like Hell, she is!" Isshin corrected immediately with a snicker. "She is not in Soul Society."
Ichigo frowned.
" How do you know ?"
" I know it. Here." Isshin said solemnly, pointing his heart.
What a joke?! He couldn't take anything seriously.
"Kuso!" Ichigo cursed unmoved by Isshin's excess of sentimentality. He needed real answers.
Isshin shrugged.
" You said that mom and I looked alike ... I don't think so. In my memory, she ..."
"Ichigo ..."
"I'm not going to break our pact and ask you to tell me stuffs you don't want to tell me. But it's been too long. I don't ... Some days I find it hard to remember her. I built this image for myself. It is engraved in my memory that she was the one who came to pick me up at Karate, and she was the one who wiped away my tears when Tatsuki kicked my butt. She was always smiling. It's my fault if she's not here."
"It's not your fault..."
"It is…"
"Do you want me to tell you who your mother was?"
Isshin's eyes were no longer concealing their sadness. He hesitated. Ichigo swallowed hard.
"Just tell me what kind of person she was for you?"
Isshin closed his eyes as if to appeal to his memory. Yet, Ichigo's mother was always with him like a forceful travel companion, a ghost only he could see.
"Insolent. Daring. Defiant. She had a potty mouth. She was stubborn, reckless, carefree, generous. Too generous. She wanted to save the world several times a day. She didn't like injustices. She wanted to really help people. See, she wasn't afraid to go meet someone new every day and try to help. Anybody in the streets would do. Some people collect strays. Your mother, she would collect friends. She was never satisfied with just doing nothing. She was born to change the world. I followed her everywhere like I was possessed. I'd jump over a cliff for her. I became a doctor because I wanted to impress her. Can you believe it? I just wanted to impress my girl. So, I studied for ten years. I was positively obsessed with that woman. Everything she wanted, I wanted also. She is my soulmate, Ichigo. It means something. But just like you, I couldn't save her."
"She died because ..."
"Because she saved the world one day too many. You were her universe, Ichigo. Her world. She…We wanted you in our life so much. You have no idea. She really wanted to be your mother."
"But ... she died because of something I did..."
"You're not listening... You're asking me to tell you, but you're not listening. She loved life, your mother. It was her problem. She never half loved something. For example, she loved fried rice to the degree where it made no sense. The woman literally wanted to eat it every day of her life with French fries and ketchup. Oh! She used to love strawberries too, especially when pregnant with you. She loved life too much, I'm telling you. She loved life way way way too much to return to Soul Society ..."
Isshin did not go to the end of his thought. Ichigo didn't question his use of the word 'return.' Isshin inhaled a cloud of nicotine again. Ichigo scratched his head. Here again, his father's logic completely escaped him.
"The kingdom of the dead."
Ichigo's eyes widened.
"You may have forgotten. But essentially, Soul society is the kingdom of deceased souls. If you had to remember one thing about your mother, only one thing is that she loved life. The woman I love loved life so much she'd sacrifice anything for it. She did not pass away. She is probably loving life somewhere."
"So what? You believe in reincarnation?"
Isshin simply shrugged. He believed in something.
The clouds gathered in the sky. Unbeknownst to Ichigo, there was a smell of electricity in the air. Isshin looked up towards the skyline and the city below. Lake Shijima was located high up against the slopes of Mount Shiji. Ichigo's dad noticed a cloud of smoke in the distance in the neighborhood of the magic shop in their neighborhood. He crossed his arms and lowered his head to the ground.
"It started ?"
He turned to Ichigo immediately questioningly. Could it be that he could see what was going on? Another explosion. A new cloud of black smoke rose to the sky. Could it be that he could feel the level of spiritual pressure rising in the air?
"If you took us out of town, it's good to assume something bad was going to happen?! The people after Orihime? They are back?"
Isshin nodded. There was no point in denying it. He would make a very bad father if he did not take responsibility. Ichigo sighed and looked up at the sky.
"Sometimes, I hate you."
Isshin snickered lightly, cigarette around the corner of his lips.
"Masaki said the same thing to me one day, looking at me like you're looking at me right now, and it started to rain just like that. Our first argument… I think I cried. She wasn't one to mince words just like you. That's when I realized I couldn't live without her."
"But you're living without her…" Ichigo retorted, not understanding his father's logic.
Isshin lowered his head to the ground.
"I made a promise to always make her happy. I made a promise to honor that woman till the day I'd turn to dust, and even in my next life, I will still do the best I can for this family. The happiest day of our life was when we became parents. I'm not supposed to taint what we had with my sadness. I'm not supposed to give up just because it got difficult. I'm not supposed to give up on protecting what she loves the most because I'm powerless or because I'm in pain. You better not give up, Ichigo. You're not my son if you give up."
"In The End" Linkin Park Cover - Tommee Profitt (feat. Fleurie & Jung Youth)
With these words, the first drops watered the ground. After a few seconds, the downpour immediately doubled in intensity. Abandoning the bucket and their last catch, Yuzu and Karin rushed to find refuge in the family tent. Isshin smashed his cigarette on the floor and headed in the same direction. He turned back one last time, his hands in his pockets, looking strangely youthful.
"You are her spitting image. If you want to remember your mother, do me a favor, just take a look in a mirror, you're sure to find her smirking back at you."
Ichigo did not move. He remained curled upon himself, the rain hitting his neck vigorously. He didn't want to give up. But it's not like he had a choice. Spreading his legs, he frowned as he contemplated his reflection forming in a puddle of rain. A silly part of him expected to see his mother like Isshin said. But instead, a monster was looking back at him, one eye black and one eye golden.
Orihime Inoue
Kurosaki Ichigo's girlfriend
Schoolgirl at Karakura High
She changed. We couldn't necessarily recognize the young woman in the mirror, but like Ulquiorra Schiffer, we could always recognize the Heart.
"Hey Orihime, you're here. We just went to Ichigo's. There is nobody there."
Standing at the entrance of the store, Inoue turned toward the boys as they approached. A breeze stirred the redhead's hair. Her uneven bangs tickled her left eye. Chad and Uryū took off their shoes to put on traditional slippers.
"Do you know about that? Did he say something?"
Her left arm still in a sling, Orihime, simply shrugged. No, she didn't know anything. She didn't know anything about Ichigo. Some days she thought she didn't know him. Some days she didn't recognize the man she loved inside him. Sometimes there was a dark glow in his eyes. This Ichigo- frightened her for some reason. She didn't know what was hiding behind his eyes. It had always been the difference between her and Kuchiki-san. While Rukia could read him like a book, she did not know the man.
"Urahara is there?"
Coming out of her thoughts, Inoue hesitated for a moment. She realized she answered none of Uryu's questions. She was really distracted, and it was starting to show. She lowered her head to the meal tray in her hand. The bowl of rice and the red bean paste no longer looked as appetizing.
"No ... Urahara-san is working on a project. He left very early this morning."
"Ah! He probably knows what's going on with the shinigami! It's crazy in the house! Kuchiki-Taicho and Ichinose-Taicho are no longer there. They've been deployed on another battlefield."
Orihime continued to look at him with round eyes. Uryū decided to explain.
"Ah, you may not be aware! When you were kidnapped, the shinigami set up a headquarter a few blocks from Ichigo's father's clinic."
Orihime nodded.
"Oh! That! Urahara-san explained to me."
She wobbled on an ankle, holding the tray clumsily. Chad leaned over to help and took over the tray. Uryū continued.
"Orihime-san shouldn't be standing. She is still injured."
"I'm fine. I'm just a little tired. But I'm already much better. You say Kurosaki-kun is gone? I mean you're sure he isn't at home? Didn't he come to see Rukia-San?"
"When we went to see her a little earlier before being thrown out by that asshole Kurotsuchi, supposedly for security reasons, we learned she hadn't received a single visit. Renji was in the room next to her. He is also in poor condition. We couldn't see him either, but his vice-captain, who is a friend of Chad, was nice enough to tell us how he was doing. We went to Ichigo's house afterward, and there was no one there.
"Renji?" Orihime frowned.
"Apparently, he was named captain and was injured in action."
"Oh!"
Orihime nodded even when she was having trouble processing all this information.
"It doesn't really look like Ichigo. But these days ... It's not like he's been very much himself... However, choosing this moment to disappear? What about you, Inoue? Are you OK ?"
Inoue leaned on a sideboard tiredly. When she looked up at them, a warm, reassuring smile stretched her lips.
"I'm sure Kurosaki-kun must have his reasons. It must have been hard for him with Kuchiki-san getting hurt..."
Ichigo had to think about Kuchiki-san first. He must have blamed himself for being unable to save her.
"But Orihime ... You just returned. What is he thinking about? When he leaves you alone..."
Her smile increased. These days, she was like a robot, really. Disgusting.
"I'm much better. Don't worry."
A shadow suddenly passed in Uryū's eyes. He suddenly frowned and turned to Chad. Something was not right. He rushed to the bedroom on the left just to have Orihime holding him back with tears in her eyes.
"Orihime?"
Orihime leaned forward in reverence.
"I am sorry. I am really sorry. I wanted to tell you."
Tears gathered in the young woman's eyes quickly. Surprised, Uryū hesitated. Finally, he gently pushed Orihime into Chad's arms and opened the bedroom door. He had expected a lot of things except that. He had expected to find Ichigo, for example. He had expected to find Urahara concocting one of his shady plans. He had expected everything except ...
" It's..."
The body of the most dangerous Espada that ever walked this earth lay on two futons, shirtless, its hollow hole still visible. His face was still streaked with black lines, but his helmet was completely gone.
"Ori-hime ... It's ... It's ..".
" Ulquiorra Schiffer." Chad finished for him. "Espada number four."
"You're hiding him?!" Uryū snapped, feeling betrayed.
Orihime finally burst into tears.
" I am sorry. I really am. He saved my life. I wanted to talk to you earlier. But Urahara-san told me he could stay here, but I shouldn't talk about it ...to anyone... So, I couldn't say anything. I'm really sorry."
"Orihime?"
Uryū suddenly took his head between his hands.
"But what's going on here? It was Rukia, now Ichigo…You guys are all doing what you want regardless of the consequences. Above all, you all act in your own bubble-like our friendship fucking means nothing to you… like we didn't face death together. You're all so selfish!"
He had barely spoken these words that a set of dark cumulonimbus suddenly plunged the house into darkness. Chad paused, staring at the vibrating window.
"What? I don't get it?! Why would you lie to us?! We're your friends, and we were worried. That guy kidnapped you twice. What's wrong with you?" Uryū yelled.
"Stop it, Ishida," Chad said sternly. Orihime said she was sorry, and he believed her. It was enough for him.
"You... I don't get how she can be so dense sometimes! How she can ignore everyone's feelings like that!" Ishida said.
Orihime's face was streaming with tears. She didn't have anything to say to defend herself.
But at that moment, it didn't matter. Two rays of red cero streaked the sky and headed straight for Ichigo's district and the Shinigami Headquarters before it crashed on the tactical shield of the Shinigami HQ. The invisible barrier supposed to protect them from this kind of threat triggered an alarm. The earth shook violently. Orihime cried and stumbled clumsily against the door. Another detonation made the walls of the magic shop shake. A cloud of smoke rose in the sky. Chad helped Orihime up and followed Ishida outside. Tessai and his two little employees appeared on the threshold of the shop, armed to the teeth.
"The Primeros. They're back. Protect the magic shop." The man said to the children as he returned to the house.
Ishida was speechless. The silhouettes of Moon DarthCross and two arrancars took shape behind a cloud of smoke. Proudly watching the blaze, Moon made a blood-chilling smile.
"This is called a tactical strike!"
Lolly and Menoly nodded together while they continued to bomb the HQ with Cero in the air. If the anti-cero shield had absorbed the first shocks, the villa's windows and bay windows soon exploded. Through the smoke, Moon could see the shinigami trying to evacuate the building.
"Things are not going exactly as planned. So, I find myself forced to improvise." Moon said as she opened the Hojō book. "Let's see if the magic of the Shinigami is as powerful as they said! Key to our wildest dreams ... Key to the celestial world ... Key to the abyssal vaults ..."
Nothing happened.
"A thousand souls will feed the river of shadows in exchange for your clarity ..."
The river Onose underneath suddenly dried out. A flash of light crossed the sky.
"Three red ribbons ... Seven fighters ... Fifteen nations of men ... Chanting their freedom ... In the dark night ... In the midst of revolution ... Throwing stones ... serves no purpose."
Orihime remained paralyzed. It was all happening so fast. Passers-by around the magic shop collapsed at the same time. Cars crashed against each other. A helicopter crashed against a tower in the financial district. A school bus filled with children stopped in the middle of a crossroad. The young redhead raced towards them but froze in her track when she realized the same thing was happening down the street. She turned toward Ishida. He was just like her. He had no idea what was happening. Ichigo! Orihime bit her lips. She had gotten used to always rely on him. Yet if she learned anything, it was that she couldn't do that anymore unless she wanted to see him dead. I reject. She tried to use her power to wake all these people to no avail.
"Screams of ferocious beasts ... Wheel of fate ... Human entrails feed this earth its due reward. Open a passage, Keeper of the key to our dreams. Nine lives…"
The black clouds formed a siphon in the sky. It started to rain. It's tainted red water fill the Onose river quickly.
"It's workin' !" Lolly cried out joyfully. She would soon be able to find her beloved Aizen-sama." We're almost there!"
"Bed of brambles ... Opaque or clear walls ... Makes the sun disappear, Kiboruto, guardian of the stars."
This mother preparing the meal for her children, this gas station attendant filling up for a customer, the customer in question behind his wheel, one-third of the inhabitants of Karakura fell back one after the other. Some even saw their souls detach themselves from their bodies, and their chains of fate break immediately.
"Garden of broken bones ... Rivers of tears ... Key of shadows ..."
Orihime concentrated with all her might to increase the amplitude of her powers. She needed to stop this. I reject.
"Santen Kesshun ..."
A transparent yellow triangle materialized above her. But it was by no means enough to contain the souls that were already floating in the sky. Uryū shot a hundred Quincy arrows in the direction of Menoly. Lolly turned to Orihime, Menoly to Uryū, they joined their hands and counter-attacked with each one a ball of cero ten times more powerful.
" Take this, silly! And that! And that !" Lolly snickered diabolically. Menoly opened another Garganta freeing a gang of Adjuchas, adding to the general confusion.
Orihime felt her shield tremble. She gathered her strength, but even her broken arm hurt with the exertion. She had to protect. She had to protect. The triangle flickered, decreasing in volume to better enlarge before decreasing again. Focus. She was struggling to maintain its integrity. She screamed in pain. It burned. Tears in her eyes, her face scratched by the shards of glass and the branches torn from the trees flying her way. She was trying to hold on to just four souls, like wandering specter, rising to the sky, while Ichida and Chad continued to oppose the two arrancars.
"Orihime watch out."
Orihime looked up. She literally didn't have time to move that a Cero strike blasted her shield in pieces, and she was sent back crashing against the walls surrounding the Magic shop. Blood filled her mouth as she collided with the wall, and she couldn't breathe.
There had been silence. There had been the quiet death of words. It had supplanted the pain of losing his helmet. The pain of his mask eroding...That had supplanted everything. He had drifted into limbo to better repair his injured spiritual envelope. But it was enough for him to hear her cry in the dark night for the suffering to increase tenfold. With his mouth open, he took a deep breath. Air seeped into his lungs at once, and he straightened up as best he could, caught in a fit of cough. How long had he not feel the need to breathe? Then the noise...
Most Wondrous Battle Music Ever: Power Of Will-Alan Al
Grabbing the blankets on which he was lying, his eyes closed, he rolled aside and crawled to the entrance of the room. Gripping the doorway with his black claws, he hoisted himself halfway up before finally managing to straighten up. He staggered out of the house, blind. Ulquiorra staggered a few feet from Orihime. He lowered his head at an odd angle. That spiritual pressure…
Chad and Ishida turned at the same time. A large tornado was born where Ulquiorra Schiffer stood, eyes closed. The sky was crackling and fracturing into a red inferno... Even the clouds looked bloody. Everything turned critically red. Three Adjuchas were racing towards Orihime.
Ulquiorra stood there at this odd angle like the living dead. Orihime opened her eyes groggily. She gasped. What was he doing here? Her mouth went dry, and she didn't even realize Tessai was helping her to her feet. She didn't even see the Adjuchas coming their way. She was staring at… He was… He almost looked human standing there without his helmet. Without his mask. With a grimace, he opened his eyes. His green eyes usually empty and dead…was so vivid... Shining... Ulquiorra opened his eyes, and blinding white replaced the darkness. Patterns formed objects. Ishida and Chad were retreating toward the shop as more hollows appeared. Jinta and Ururu were doing the same. The group was surrounded.
Ulquiorra touched his head, looking for his helmet. It means like Ichigo, you cannot lose. He took another step staring at his reflection in a puddle of water. He felt his blood pumping in his veins. Everything was happening in slow motion around him. He closed his eyes and stared at his reflection. Images of Grimmjow kissing Nelliel... A sensation of cold as Tia Harribel leaned over Ice... He remembered... The beast was howling inside him to be unleashed. "My dearest brethren... ". The fall of the Father of all hollows. His desperate wandering in the desert. Aizen. Gin. Tosen. The Espada. At last, he remembered the redhaired who extended her hand to him.
Menoly pointed again in his direction. Orihime didn't know what possessed her really, but she just started to run toward him. His stillness unnerved her. She sprinted with all her strength. She just had one logic. There was no way he could defend himself in the state he was in.
Ulquiorra stared at his reflection, tears of blood streaming down his cheeks. His face… He was whole again. He was back. He saw his face without the mask… Without the shame. Without regrets. Without confusion. It was the beast underneath shouting proudly… It was the beast being hungry. Before the Cero strike Ulquiorra, Orihime held her shield up again screaming. Hearing her scream, Ulquiorra spun back toward the disturbances and roared like a legion of Menos Grande.
Tessai, Chad, and Uryu turned toward him, unsure what to do.
Ulquiorra jerked back. All the Adjuchas immediately melted on the floor. With a finger snap, the liquid streamed toward Ulquiorra as if it had a will of its own and latched on his bare feet. He looked up the sky and Menoly crashed on the ground like a fallen Meteor.
"Fuck…Menoly…" Lolly screamed before she opened a Garganta and disappeared.
Menoly crawled out of the small crater, gasping for air.
"Fuck! Fuck! Let go…That fucking hurt, you asshole. What's wrong with you?"
He turned toward her passively.
"Don't do this to me…"
Ulquiorra said nothing. He currently answered to no one.
"No!"
The blonde was clinging to the ground with all her might meanwhile the rest of her body glided toward him. She tried to stab the ground with her zanpakutō. It didn't work.
Hear the call, slave. The words resonated in her mind while he didn't even talk. She dropped on her scraped knees, the palms of her hands and claws bloody. But even if she was fighting it with every fiber of her being, the call of a Vasto Lorde was something so strong, there was no way she could refuse him. Even if she knew he was going to kill her…. She couldn't even question how come she knew this. It's not like she was ever in the presence of a Vasto Lorde before, but this she knew to be true. It was like her own blood was telling her the story of how she was about to die.
Orihime just stared at them dumbfounded.
"Ul-quiorra..." She whispered.
"Fuck….No! I don't want to end like this… Go to hell! My master is Aizen-sama! He is your master too. What are you doing?"
His master. He had no master but the Red King himself. Twitching his head on the side, he accentuated his pull. Menoly slid completely on the ground. She was almost there. He was going to absorb her just like the Adjuchas earlier since he was their Lord and Savior. It was inevitable.
"I'm sorry… I didn't know… She was yours. I'm sorry. Please, forgive me… Please..." She sobbed with a runny nose.
Ulquiorra blinked, his focus shifting quickly as he stared at the oddest angle at his left side. He grabbed Lolly by the throat before she fully materialized outside the Garganta. Then, he slammed her into the ground like she was nothing but an insect. A crater formed as the earth rippled like water under his feet, testament of the strength of his retaliation. Orihime jumped startled by the suddenness and the brutality of it all. Chad leaped away from the crack forming in the ground.
Lolly couldn't emit a sound as a spurt of blood escaped her throat. In a desperate attempt to defend herself, she stabbed Ulquiorra in the neck with her zanpakutō, Scolopendra. He let go of her like she was a hindrance but made no signs her attacks had any effect on him. She rolled aside. The minute he let go, she crawled with her battered body, using the last of her strength, leaped toward Menolly to catch her and disappeared in a Garganta.
Ulquiorra said nothing. His eyes focused on his surroundings. He was starving.
"Ulquiorra."
He turned slowly toward Orihime, seeing her for the first time.
"You... I was so scared she might..."
He registered faintly the mix of fear and worry in her voice. Then he realized her voice was more and more distant as if she wasn't standing right in front of him.
"Whistle the wind! Roar the trees! Slow the wheel of fate! Dry the rivers!"
The lights went out. He lost consciousness as suddenly as he woke up earlier. He crashed face-first on the ground. Moon, that everyone seemed to have forgotten in the sky, continued to aim her prayer at the heavens. The sky crackled above their head.
Chad watched his friends faltered one by one. Orihime no longer seemed able to stand. She joined Ulquiorra on the ground. Uryū was aiming at Moon all he cool but his arrows fizzled before impact. Chad couldn't stay idle in this fight. After Ichigo's sacrifice, he rushed towards Moon who was still reciting the verses from the book of Demonic Transgression.
"El directo!"
Moon held her hand out.
"Guardian of Heavens, I demand my reward. Give me Kiborutō [1]"
A flash of light enveloped the city. Standing in the flame-ravaged garden of the headquarters, Kurotsuchi watched the duel with amusement. The boy was no match. It wouldn't last much longer. While Unohana was busy repatriating the wounded in the senkaimon, he had an incredible chance of being able to observe, without risking being disturbed, the use of transgression Kido channels and to see the creation of an interdimensional key of a such power. Should he pass this opportunity only because a hundred or a thousand humans were going to die? Kurotsuchi reasoned that it was out of the question. This research material was priceless. He smiled broadly behind his mask.
Mizuiro Kojima observed the sky, as dismounted as a stormy ocean, his smartphone in hand. He was surrounded by mounds of lifeless bodies, high school students, teachers ... Keigo ... Tatsuki ... Chizuru ... Anonymous faces ... Some souls floated, sucked by the black hole in the sky.
Mizuiro tapped the keys on his phone. The screen animated with various hieroglyphs was reflected in his black eyes.
The ground trembled under his feet. Chad. Mizuiro closed his eyes for a second praying that his soul would find rest. Souls, there would be a whole bundle to be repatriated this evening. There, where the quiet giant had struck the ground, rose a cloud of dust. From where he was, Mizuiro could see perfectly. He could very well guess the ultimate outcome. When a way of demonic transgression was opened, it was simple. Many souls were crushed. Many people die.
In a rumble, the clouds moved apart and a gigantic hand appeared through the opening. Moon was speechless before the phenomenon. The hand spread its fingers to give her a golden sphere decorated with ancient hieroglyphs. The primeros accepted the offering with trembling hands. Then she burst into laughter.
"That's it? That's just it? It was ... Oh wow! I did it ... Ha ha ha! I did it!"
The Primeros moved back leaving the titanic hand to retract. Her face froze in a grimace. She looked down. Her fingers gradually disappeared. Her cry echoed in the atmosphere as she realized in horror that she was completely disappearing, swallowed by the dark hole. She was falling. Menoly materialized behind her. She caught up with the sphere and pushed Moon to her certain death.
"I ... I'm dying ... I ..."
Menoly wiped the blood of her own face, disdainfully.
"Sorry! It's no luck! Koshinko had said it could happen, right? Too bad! Oops, I think Lolly and I just forgot to warn you."
Moon shouted one last time before disappearing. Their work done, Lolly and Menoly slipped back into the Garganta, watching with detachment and contempt, the ants at the bottom. The Quincy and the redhead were leaning around the Giant's body. The two young fraccion smiled. Their dearest wishes were soon to come true. Lolly and Menoly exchanged a knowing wink. Aizen-Sama will be so proud.
On the ground, Orihime staggered to her feet. She groggily walked toward Chad's body. She didn't know how long she stood there, blinking. Uryū was holding his head with tears in his eyes. It contrasted so much with the frenzy earlier, it was dizzying how silent the town had become. She couldn't even put words on it. She stared at his lifeless body.
He took several minutes for Uryū to realize and when he did, he dropped on his knees, rolled Chad on his back and started compressions. In the back of his mind, he knew he should call his father… or somebody…anybody for help. But also, in the back of his mind, was the distinct realization that this was not supposed to happen. It was not supposed to happen.
Tessai just stood behind them.
"It's no use. He's gone. They're all gone." He said.
Orihime turned. She barely paid attention to the bodies in the streets. She was suddenly overwhelmed with a wave of nausea, her mind reeling with thoughts. What just happened? Did they lost? Was it the end of the world? She dropped on her knees next to Ulquiorra and started to cry.
Sitting on the edge of the tallest building in town, the Kojima tower, Mizuiro Kojima brought his phone closer to his ear.
"Code name: Reisan, to the report."
He let a few seconds pass, while his call was authenticated by the central office server. He was transferred immediately.
" We're in the middle of something important. Remind me why you're not here."
"Me too. It has began. Kiborutō just been summoned by these people out of the blue. They got the Key to the Abyssal vaults."
"How many casualties?"
"A thousand…Maybe more... Don't know… Something like a lot…"
"…Good, his majesty is very hungry these days. These kinds of offerings will certainly please him. Come back immediately."
"Transfer just started…It's still my jurisdiction."
"I don't care. I need you now."
"One of my best buddies just died."
There was no answer. Just the sound of a disconnected call. Mizuiro grimaced. Fuck! What a shitty day through and through! He stood up as the clouds cleared above his head. He closed his eyes and…He was gone. Like a gust of wind. Denshi. Displacement technique of the highest level. The clouds accumulated again as if nothing happened. Thunder roared in the distance. It started to rain.
[1] Way of demonic transgression: Kiborutō.
The Key to the Abyssal Vaults is an artifact that allows the user to open a passage in almost any dimension. To obtain it, it is necessary to pronounce a prohibited spell, and to proceed to the sacrifice of a thousand souls and the sacrifice of the applicant if he is not powerful enough.
Next chapter = Comatosis
